November Book Haul

Happy New Year's! I'll be posting my video of Top 14 of 2014 soon! Probably film it tomorrow. I've been very busy on my break with Christmas and my birthday, but I'm trying.:) Hope your holidays were fabulous! See ya soon.:D

Trilogy Wrap Up: Divergent Edition

Trilogy Wrap-Up

DIVERGENT TRILOGY BY VERONICA ROTH

If you are interested in my whole Divergent review experience, you can find my review here. I’m incredibly behind on reviews and I read the last two books in this trilogy in March and figured I’d kill two birds with one stone and just finally write my reviews. Obviously this contains spoilers for the previous books in the trilogy and there’s just no getting around that.

 

Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Second in the Divergent trilogy

3.5 stars (originally 4.5 stars)

Insurgent follows Tris on her journey after the battle concluded in Divergent between Dauntless-controlled people on Abnegation. Tris struggles to forgive herself for causing a close friend’s death while also facing being virtually factionless. As Tris, Four, and the rest of the gang take refuge with Amity things start to slowly fall apart and they meet the Factionless. Secrets of Four’s past are revealed and Chicago is preparing for war. I originally gave this book 4.5 stars, but since it’s been ten months since I’ve read Insurgent I’ve had a lot of time to think about this trilogy’s conclusion and it’s middle book. Insurgent is surprisingly no longer my least favorite novel. If you asked me months which book in this trilogy was the worst I would’ve shouted Insurgent because I thought it was boring, slow, and uneventful (I still read it in a little over a week despite that). After a lot of thinking I’ve come to realize Insurgent isn’t the worse book in this trilogy, but it is certainly not very good either.


Insurgent is bogged down with a lot of pointless drama and action. The constant bickering between Tris and Four was frustrating and I wanted to rip my hair out more than once.



The big reveal of why the factions and this dystopian Chicago were created was lame and unfulfilling. Plus it was a cliffhanger reveal which for me didn’t give it bonus points like some cliffhangers manage to do. This cliffhanger only infuriated me. It was completely pointless to be included at the END of the novel. The last five pages were this huge reveal and I wanted to screa 


Also the Amity and Factionless compounds were boring. Amity is a snoozefest and while I love the idea of experiencing a new faction life style apart from the ones we were previously introduced to in Divergent, this faction lacked. It was a good idea that was poorly executed. The Factionless compound was just meh for me. I didn’t care for the inclusion of these people because they were just as bad as Erudite. I don’t understand why Roth wants everyone to seem so power hungry. Maybe it has something to do with being genetically impure, but really I don’t give two shits anymore.

The main female character is Tris. Tris, you are…

Tris, I loved you in Divergent. I struggled with her character growth a bit, but I overall appreciated who she became by the end of that novel. All that went right out the train. Get it? Cause the Dauntless jump out of trains. I thought it was funny. Tris was frustrating, selfish, and childish in this novel. Her thought process irked me and she kept egging on fights with Four. I mean it was unnecessary. I lost a lot of respect for Tris in this novel.


Kick-Butt Heroine Scale: 6.5

The main male character is Four or Tobias. I’m not sure what to call him anymore, so I’ll just stick to Four. My love for Tobias (LOL there went the whole only using Four thing) varied throughout Insurgent. There were times when my inner fangirl was strong. My heart was singing when he was in the scene and I wanted to swoon, but then he would annoy the crap out of me. This love-hate feeling toward Tobias had me very confused. I wanted to love him and at times I had no problem loving him. At others he made me want to scream.


Swoon Worthy Scale: 8

The Villain- Well, the main villain plot was slightly wrapped up only to introduce about seventy more villains. I’m so done with Roth right now. Writing a review for this novel has really started to piss me off.


Villain Scale: 6

The characters in this novel were all entertaining and they would make me laugh. Of course, Roth has to kill off at least five characters in one novel and she called off a few new ones introduced that I really liked.


Character Scale: 7.5

I’m so frustrated with Insurgent. I want to rate it four stars, but I can’t. I wanted to love this book, but there are too many problems with for me to do that. I’ve only become angry writing this review and my blood pressure is rising a bit. I think that’s all I should say about Insurgent because I WILL RAGE for Allegiant.


Cover Thoughts: I love this cover. It’s so… Amity. Which says something because this book is far from peaceful Tris’s constant hormonal arguing and fighting whether to have sex with Tobias or not. Or the fact that there’s a war about to start. This book cover is ironic.


 

Allegiant by Veronica Roth

The third and final book in the Divergent trilogy (Should I even consider this a book, thought?)

1 star (I originally rated this book five stars because I was sad this trilogy was over and wanted more, but now I don’t give a shit I’m fricking angry.)

Instead of being my normally brilliant self (LOL I should just stop) and creating my own synopsis for this novel, I’ve decided to use the Goodreads synopsis because this will help me rage because I have a lot of rage for this novel that I’ve kept bottled up, but I can’t keep it inside anymore. There will obviously be spoilers and cursing because RAGE.


What if your whole world was a lie?
Well, Tris your whole life was a lie. All of a sudden you find out the whole faction system was created by scientists as a huge science research project. People are born either genetically pure or impure. The impure genes have led to war and chaos, but there are few people with pure genes. Tris is one of these people labeled as Divergents- genetically pure.

You know what else is a lie was- that this was a good trilogy. This trilogy turned crap. I was lied to. This trilogy was supposed to be amazing and great, but instead all I got was crap marketed as a stunning conclusion and a groundbreaking dystopian trilogy.



What if a single revelation—like a single choice—changed everything?
Tris has a lot of revelations in this novel. She realizes she wants to do the do with Tobias. Tobias realizes he loves Tris 5ever. Tris wants to leave Chicago to found out what lies beyond the compound. Tobias realizes his mother may not be so bad. Tris realizes her brother is a dick, but then realizes she forgives him. Tobias realizes that he isn’t genetically pure like Tris and just exhibits the symptoms. Tris realizes she is invincible- even to a death serum. Tris realizes that her dumbass has been shot by a doctor in the science research facility and takes a bullet for her dickheaded brother- leading her to fucking die. Tobias realizes Tris is fucking dead. Tobias realizes he rules Chicago now and decides to get over his fear of heights and spread Tris’s ashes on the zip line.

I realize Veronica Roth is a cop out and this trilogy is shit. Divergent is the only book worth reading. Fuck Allegiant. I’m hundred percent done trying to make up excuses that this trilogy has a good conclusion because it doesn’t. How can you make Tris survive a death serum, but kill her off with a bullet? I’m sorry Roth, but your logical fails and I’m not going to try to make excuses for this shit book because I’m done.


What if love and loyalty made you do things you never expected?
I’ve lost my love and loyalty for this trilogy after ten months. I don’t care anymore and I wouldn’t recommend this trilogy. ONLY READ DIVERGENT! It is the only thing worth reading.


You wanna know why there’s a fricken wave on the cover? The cover doesn’t fit any of the faction themed symbols. My theory is the publishers wanted to remind me every time I look at Allegiant’s cover I wanted to burst into tears. Not because Tris died. No because this could’ve-been-great trilogy turned to complete SHIT.


Another thing that really bothers me is this whole genetic impurity and purity crap. Like what? What does any of this mean? All I got from the explanations was info-dump, bigger info-dump, mound of info-dump, and look-a-trash-lot-sized info-dump. I’m not satisfied with Roth’s explanation for things because they make no sense. There is no sense in this genetically pure and impure crap. Wanna know why? Because there will always be good and bad people. There will always be people who fight for what they believe in and people who tear other people down. There will never be a perfect utopian society where everyone has a white picket fence, 2.5 kids, and a dog, lives in the suburbs, and is morally acceptable. That is not how humanity works. I don’t understand why Roth decided to use genetics and combine it with good and evil. I do understand that Roth’s attempt at being a different kind of dystopian only fueled in pissing me off.



The main female character is Tris. Tris, you have made me pissed. I’m so done with your bullshit. I don’t care anymore. I wanted you to survive because you should’ve survived. Instead you got a copped out hero-send-off. I’m disappointed in your characterization and was it was left off. I do appreciate you finally coming to terms with all your sorrows and sins. Sadly it was for nothing. Believe it or not: I am sad Tris died because it wasn’t the death she deserved.


Kick-Butt Heroine Scale: 6

The main male character is Tobias. Tobias, you sound a lot like Tris in POVs. That’s not a good thing. I should love you, Tobias. I fell so hard in Divergent, was lukewarm in Insurgent, but now I dislike you. I completely dislike Tobias. I feel ashamed to say that now, but I dislike Tobias in Allegiant. So I’m just going to pretend like Tobias-Allegiant never happened.


Swoon Worthy Scale: 5

The Villain- Once again, Roth introduced about twenty more villains before dealing with one. The drama was concluded though.


Villain Scale: 4

Uriah… *cries* I’m unsatisfied with these characters. I read somewhere that Roth that in the future Christina and Tobias get together after the epilogue.

Roth just keeps digging a deeper hole for herself.


Character Scale: 7

I’m left angry, empty, and unsure of this trilogy. This should’ve been a great trilogy. It could’ve been, but I see so many flaws and I had so many issues with it. I’m just angry. I don’t know if I’ll read any of Roths other works, but hopefully I do one day decide to give her another shot. Until then I’m out.



Cover Thoughts: I like the cover. I’ve already expressed deeper thoughts about it above.

What are your thoughts on this trilogy? Did you get as angry as I am? Let's discuss down below!